1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to voice communication, and more particularly, to the graceful degradation of voice communication services when network conditions prevent live or real-time communication.
2. Description of Related Art
Current wireless voice communications, such as mobile phones or radios, support only live communications. For communication to take place with existing wireless communication systems, a wireless network connection with a sufficient usable bit rate to support a live conversation must exist between the two wireless devices in communication with each other. If such a connection does not exist, then no communication can take place.
When a person is engaged in a conversation using their mobile phone, for example, a network connection between the phone and the local radio transceiver (i.e., a cell tower) of sufficient usable bit rate to support a live conversation must exist before any communication can take place. As long the mobile phone is within the range of the radio transceiver, the signal strength or usable bit rate is typically more than adequate for conducting phone conversations.
As the person using the mobile phone travels away from the radio transceiver, or they enter an area of poor coverage, such as in a tunnel or canyon, the usable bit rate or signal strength on the wireless network connection is typically reduced. If the distance becomes so great, or the reception so poor, the usable bit rate may be reduced beyond the range where communication may take place. Beyond this range, the user may no longer be able to continue an ongoing call or make a new call. Similarly, when too many users are conducting calls on the network at the same time, the total aggregate usable bit rate for all the calls may exceed the usable bit rate capacity of the radio transceiver. In such situations, certain calls may be dropped in an effort to preserve the usable bit rate or capacity for other calls. As the number of calls on the network decreases, or usable bit rate conditions on the wireless network improve, dropped users may again rejoin the network and make new calls as capacity on the network improves. In yet another example, in situations where there is severe radio interference, such as electrical or electromagnetic disturbances, intentional jamming of the wireless network, the antenna on a communication device or the radio transmitter is broken or not working properly, or the communication device and/or the radio transceiver have been improperly configured, the usable bit rate on the network connection may be insufficient for users to make calls or conduct live voice communications.
With current wireless voice communication systems, there is no persistent storage of the voice media of conversations. When a person engages in a conversation using either mobile phones or radios, there is no storage of the voice media of the conversations other than possibly what is necessary for transmission and rendering. Without persistent storage, the voice media of a conversation is irretrievably lost after transmission and rendering. There is no way to retrieve that voice media subsequent transmission or review. Consequently, wireless voice communication systems are reliant on network connections. If at any point the usable bit rate on the network is insufficient for a live conversation, regardless of the reason, there can be no communication. Mobile phones and radios are essentially unusable until the usable bit rate on the network improves to the point where live communications can commence again.
Wired communication networks may also have capacity problems when too many users are attempting to use the network at the same time or there are external interferences degrading the performance of the network. In these situations, calls are typically dropped and/or no new calls can be made in order to preserve usable bandwidth for other users. With wired voice communication systems, there is also typically no persistent storage of the voice media of a conversation. As a result, there is no way to transmit voice media from persistent storage at times when the usable bit rate on the wired network connection falls below what is necessary for maintaining a live conversation.
With most voice mail systems used with mobile or land-line phones, a network with sufficient usable bit rate to support a live conversation is needed before the voicemail system can be used. When a person is leaving a voice mail, a live connection is needed before a message can be left. Alternatively, the recipient must have a live connection before the message can be accessed and reviewed. With certain types of more advanced email systems, such as Visual voice mail, a recipient may download a received message and store it on their mobile phone for later review. With Visual voice mail, however, one can review a previously downloaded message when disconnected from the network or network conditions are poor. However, there is no way to generate and transmit messages when network conditions are inadequate to support a live connection. A network connection with a usable bit rate sufficient for maintaining a live conversation is still needed before a message can be generated and transmitted to another person.
A method and communication device for the graceful degradation of wireless and wired voice networks, which extend the range and/or capacity of these networks, is therefore needed.